Lights, Camera, Action!

GoPro, battery charger, and handy, dandy handle

A couple of weeks ago, I thought that it would be a fun idea to video my 25th marathon for the memories. I've seen some great POV videos of marathons online and some really capture the spirit and excitement of being there. You're right in amongst the runners, hearing the crowd and feeling the excitement. 

I recommend that you search out coach Nick Bester on YouTube and watch his London Marathon 2022 and 2023 videos. The crowds at London are really special, and Nick’s ebullience puts you right at the heart of the runners and all the energy. 

My 25th marathon, The Twin Cities marathon, is a whole summer away. Thinking ahead, I wondered how feasible it would be to carry my GoPro Hero 7 Black for 26.2 miles to record the event, and how much training I would have to do running with the small camera to get used to the extra weight. 

It turns out not much really. I ran with it for 10 miles and really didn’t have a problem. The big lesson learned was to power down the camera after I filmed something. Putting it to sleep still drained the battery. When I tried it out again on a 20 mile run I had no problems at all. No arm fatigue from carrying and no drained battery. 

“I guess I might as well use it on Grandmas too.” I thought to myself. 

Here we are then. On a petty annoyance level, it’s something extra to remember. Something more to put on the packing list. But the memories I should get from it outweigh that disadvantage.

This will be the sixth time I’ve run from Two Harbors to Duluth. As a result I’m quite familiar with what there is to see on the course. So it’s quite easy to put together a list of what the film should contain.

Start line scenes of course. The massed throng as it crosses the start line. Cliché shots of feet pounding the ground, that sort of thing. Crowd shots are a must when I get to Duluth. Then there’s the little things that I always see, like the phone box in someone’s garden. Then end the film with the finish line and the medal.

Hopefully the battery lasts to get all the things I want. 

Watch for the premiere of the video a week or so after the race.